Pyramids

In 1959 a Czech radi engineer, Karl Drbal,
claimed that razor blades placed in the cavity of a pyramid modeled
on the dimensions of the Great Pyramid (Cheops) of Giza
in Egypt would be sharpened within twenty-four hours.

Soon afterwards people were advancing the efficacy of pyramids
for nurturing plants,healing wounds, curing headaches and aiding meditation.

Many Jehovah’s Witnesses may be surprised to know that the founder of their movement, Charles Taze Russell, was fascinated with Egyptian symbolism. This is often reflected in his life and writings. Even in his death, he had a huge pyramid structure dedicated to him, which can still be seen to this very day (see: Charles T. Russell Pyramid Tombstone Gravesite, Rosemont United Cemetery for further documentation, maps, and photographs). This tombstone was a fitting symbol for Russell reflecting his interest with the Great Pyramid of Gizeh.
During his life, Russell was so fascinated by the Great Pyramid of Gizeh that he looked to it for collaboration for his prophecies. He did this by using a system of measurments:
“In the passages of the Great Pyramid of Gizeh the agreement of one or two measurements with the present-truth chronology might seem accidental, but the correspondency of dozens of measurements proves that the same God designed both pyramid and plan…”

In his Studies in the Scriptures series of books he wrote:
“So, then, if we measure backward down the “First Ascending Passage” to its junction with the “Entrance Passage,” we shall have a fixed date to mark upon the downward passage. This measure is 1542 inches, and indicates the year BC 1542, as the date at that point. Then measuring down the “Entrance Passage” from that point, to find the distance to the entrance of the “Pit,” representing the great trouble and destruction with which this age is to close, when evil will be overthrown from power, we find it to be 3416 inches, symbolizing 3416 years from the above date, BC 1542. This calculation shows AD. 1874 as marking the beginning of the period of trouble; for 1542 years BC plus 1874 years AD. equals 3416 years. Thus the Pyramid witnesses that the close of 1874 was the chronological beginning of the time of trouble such as was not since there was a nation — no, nor ever shall be afterward. And thus it will be noted that this “Witness” fully corroborates the Bible testimony on this subject…” (Charles Taze Russell, Thy Kingdom Come, Studies In The Scriptures, vol. 3, 1904 edition).
In the 1910 version of the same book, Russell changed his dating from 1874 to 1914, a date that Jehovah‘s Witnesses still hold to as relevant to this very day:
“So, then, if we measure backward down the “First Ascending Passage” to its junction with the “Entrance Passage,” we shall have a fixed date to mark upon the downward passage. This measure is 1542 inches, and indicates the year BC 1542, as the date at that point. Then measuring down the “Entrance Passage” from that point, to find the distance to the entrance of the “Pit,” representing the great trouble and destruction with which this age is to close, when evil will be overthrown from power, we find it to be 3457 inches, symbolizing 3457 years from the above date, BC 1542. This calculation shows AD. 1915 as marking the beginning of the period of trouble; for 1542 years BC plus 1915 years AD. equals 3457 years. Thus the Pyramid witnesses that the close of 1914 will be the beginning of the time of trouble such as was not since there was a nation — no, nor ever shall be afterward. And thus it will be noted that this “Witness” fully corroborates the’ Bible testimony on this subject…” (Charles Taze Russell, Thy Kingdom Come, Studies In The Scriptures, vol. 3, 1910 edition).
Despite the issue of Russell changing key dates in his prophetic speculations (a major problem in and of itself), it is incredible that a man claiming to be God’s servant, actually used an occult pagan Egyptian structure in support of the dates for his prophecies! It would also appear that Russell was not unique in his interest with the pyramid of Gizeh. He just seems to be one of many others who were fascinated with it. Interestingly, most of these groups were occultists!
“The most intense speculation has always stemmed from the dozens of occult groups who see the pyramids as a source of immense, untapped power waiting to be released. In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, occult organisations like `The Golden Dawn’ used many of the trappings and imagery associated with ancient Egypt, from the hierarchy of priests to the modes of dress. Self-appointed magicians, for example the notorious `Great Beast’ Aleister Crowley (himself a former leader of the Golden Dawn), styled his workings and ceremonies after the manner of the Egyptians. How he achieved this is not clear since the majority of his rituals are based in equal parts on tradition, guesswork and inspiration rather than hard fact. Crowley, a self proclaimed master of the occult, claimed that the secrets were passed to him by an being called `Aiwass’ while communing with `the secret masters’ and `higher entities’ during trance states. In his biography, Crowley tells of spending a night meditating in the Kings chamber of the Great Pyramid alone with his wife.”
As well as the initial attraction to the pyramids, by occultists, during this time, the Dictionary of the Occult, under the section on “Pyramids”, explains how these ancient structures have been commonly used in occult lore to work with dates and calendars:
“The remains of four-sided stone structures of ancient Egypt and of the pre-Columbian cultures of Central America and Mexico used as ceremonial structures and as burial chambers. In occult lore they were also used for initiation in the mysteries, for astronomical purposes, and as transformers of spiritual energy. It is alleged that the polyhedral geometry of the pyramid generates supernatural powers.
Dhasis Notice from the above occult source book (an unbiased source, in that it is nothing to do with Russell) that pyramids were used for calendric purposes, just like what Russell did when he came up with his 1914 date (previousely 1874 in earlier eds. of the same book). As stated earlier, 1914 is a date that modern day Jehovah’s Witnesses still hold to.
The second president of the Watchtower Society, Joseph Rutherford, eventually began to distance himself from many of Russell’s teachings and doctrines in an attempt to stamp his own mark on the organization. One of the many things he rejected from Russell’s teachings was his teaching on the Great Pyramid. He wrote:
“It is more reasonable to conclude that the great pyramid of Gizeh, as well as the other pyramids thereabout, also the sphinx, were built by the rulers of Egypt and under the directions of Satan the Devil… Then Satan put his knowledge in dead stone, which may be called Satan’s Bible, and not God’s stone witness…”
Despite the fact the Rutherford turned against Russell’s teachings about the Great Pyramid, the fact still remains that at the foundation of Jehovah’s Witnesses there is a man who was heavily involved in pagan Egyptology and occult symbolism.

Impossibly huge and geometrically precise stone constructs,
withstanding the ravages of time as if by the will of the gods. Unlike
the Bermuda Triangle and Atlantis, of course, pyramids are decidedly
real. What is in question is their origins, their possible mystical
properties, and whether any may have been found on the ocean floor
as Atlantean relics.It has long been argued that the ancient Egyptians and Aztecs could
not possibly have built the pyramids on their own; therefore, they are
evidence of some greater intelligence, possibly extraterrestrial. But the
earthly tools used in their construction have been found, and, while the
pyramids represent an astonishing feat of engineering that required
untold years of labor, it appears that early humans were capable of
the task.Some have focused on the amazing structural and geometrical
properties of the pyramids. First there is their incredible longevity: the
pyramids have remained intact while other structures of a comparable
age have crumbled away. This is largely attributable to the inherent
durability of their characteristic shape. “It is, in fact, the form that a
structure takes when it falls down!” James Randi has observed. “In
other words, having tumbled to a pyramid-shaped mass, it cannot
collapse much further.” So their well-preserved state owes more to
their architects’ wisdom than to any mystical force.Pyramid enthusiasts have divined remarkable mathematical formulas
from the monuments’ heights, lengths and angles. This is especially
true of the Great Pyramid of Cheops. Writers such as Erich von
Daniken and Charles Piazzi Smyth have wrung all manner of figures
out of this pyramid’s measurements, including the Earth’s polar radius
and its distance in miles from the sun — but their calculations take
liberties that keep them from holding up under close scrutiny.
Furthermore, one can play with any set of figures and eventually
produce falsely meaningful results that were never intended to be
there. Martin Gardner demonstrated this by calculating the speed of
light from the height and capstone weight of the Washington
Monument.Then again, maybe some geometrical phenomena were built into the
pyramids — if inadvertently. For instance, if you double the length of
one base side of the Great Pyramid and divide it by the height, the
result is very close to the value of pi. There is no evidence that the
ancient Egyptians ever measured pi. One explanation is that the
builders used a wheel tool to measure lengths, and using a circle’s
diameter as a unit of measure could lead to pi being “hidden”
throughout the structure.

Pyramids have historically been viewed as repositories or conduits of
otherworldly power. Egyptians used them to honor the dead and
Aztecs performed ceremonial sacrifices atop them, suggesting that the
structures held a great deal of spiritual significance in both cultures.
These supposed properties were brought to the attention of the
modern world by Karl Drbal, a Czechoslovakian who in 1959
founded the notion of “pyramid power.” It became fashionable to use
miniature pyramids for the supposed purposes of magical healing,
augmented psychic powers, and communion with alien beings. People
believed that a wish written on a slip of paper and worn inside a
pyramid pendant would come true, and that old razor blades placed
within a pyramid would spontaneously sharpen overnight.
Edgar Cayce, the prophet and Atlantis supporter, determined with his
psychic powers that the Great Pyramid had been built by a team of
Egyptians and Atlanteans. He said the Atlanteans helped by levitating
the stones during construction, and that they recorded the whole of
human history — past and future — within the pyramid. This
comprehensive documentation ran up through 1998, Cayce’s
projected Second Coming of Christ.
If the folks from Atlantis were this interested in pyramids, it stands to
reason that they would have built some of their own. There have been
sightings of undersea objects that looked like pyramids from above
the surface, which turned out to be natural formations with no pyramid
shape at all. An elaborate Atlantis pyramid hoax was perpetrated in
Charles Berlitz’s 1978 book Without a Trace, the follow-up to his
notorious The Bermuda Triangle.
Berlitz presented sonar tracings of the Atlantic ocean floor near the
island of Bimini as evidence of a giant sunken pyramid. Bimini lies
within the Bermuda Triangle, and is in the exact area where Edgar
Cayce placed Atlantis. Berlitz indicated that the pyramid reached 470
feet above the ocean floor and was 520 feet long at each of its four
bases — comparable in size to the 450-foot-high Great Pyramid.
The sonar chart, obtained by Captain Don Hen “authenticated by
Dr. J. Manson Valentine of the Miami Museum of Science does
indeed appear constitute impressive proof… at least,until you know
how to read it properly. The tracing shows a
cross-section of a distinct, symmetrical pyramid shape rising above an
otherwise flat surface. But sonar tracing of the type Henry used
produces a readout with a greatly exaggerated vertical axis, to make it
easier to detect horizontal surface changes. Thus, what appears to be
pyramid sides sharply rising at 45° angles is in reality a gentle slope of
no more than two or three degrees. The furthest thing from 470 feet,
the apex of this “pyramid” is really only a few feet tall.
To add to the deception, Berlitz pointed out the bottom line of the
chart as representing the ocean floor. It was actually just an arbitrary
line where the chart cut off; on such sonar charts, the line showing the
true ocean floor runs off the bottom of the chart and reappears at the
top. The contrast of the sharp slope against this false ocean floor
made the map’s subject much more pyramid-like.
It is also possible that Henry made this sonar tracing by running his
scanning boat in one direction, then abruptly reversing his direction.
Doing so would produce a symmetrical pyramid-shaped sonar chart
from practically any part of the ocean floor (although sometimes the
pyramid would appear upside-down, depending on the slope and the
boat’s direction).
Berlitz also reported another alleged Atlantis ruin, the “Bimini Road.”
An undersea ribbon of parallel rock formations running for 1,000
miles off the Bimini coast, it was the remnants of a highway paved by
Atlanteans, Berlitz claimed. While the Bimini Road’s patterns do make
it look man-made, it is actually just an aggregation of beach rock,
which naturally forms this way in many parts of the world.
One can’t say whether Berlitz genuinely believed the pyramid was
there and the Bimini Road was real, or if he was intentionally twisting
the facts for the sake of another exciting bestseller — although one
wonders what kinds of experts in their fields Captain Henry and Dr.
Valentine were if they failed to point out Berlitz’s wild misconceptions.
The three legends of the Bermuda Triangle, Atlantis and the pyramids
are remarkably complimentary. Pyramids were built in both Africa
and the Americas, and Atlantis serves as a possible bridge to bring
that concept — as well as the needed architectural skills — to both
sides of the ocean. Atlantis’s technological wreckage gives cause to
strange occurrences in the Bermuda Triangle. All three stories deal
with mysterious energies, ancient secrets, spirituality and death — and
possibly aliens, who might well be responsible for the whole shebang.
In science, when the findings of disparate fields of study dovetail into
a harmonious whole, the result can be a mutual affirmation of validity.
It may be tempting to follow the same line of thinking in the case of
these three phenomena: “It all fits together so well, there must be
something to it!” But when the pieces include myths, half-truths and
deception, the completed picture will be just a bunch of lies… or, at
best, some really cool mythology.